Femininity
by Billie the fourth sage
Summary: KH crossover, AU: Yazoo and Marluxia start a new life in a new town, promising each other that they'd have a good year. But they have the same dirty little secret, and they find it's harder to keep than they think.
1. Dirty Little Secret

Got inspired one day XD Most of this was fueled by my idol Lady K. d'Azrael.

Warning: weird high school situations and yaoi and crossdressing.

Pairings: Not telling XP Find out yourself.

* * *

The silver-headed beauty woke up, cat-like movements consistent all the way to the bathroom where the teenager took a quick shower, getting ready for the first day at school in the new neighborhood. 

The teen slipped on a green sweater that matched mako eyes and a leather mini-skirt, but only after putting on special clothing for the silver-head's 'predicament'.

Putting on leather boots, Yazoo raced for the door, hearing a familiar car horn outside the house.

"Yazoo, where the hell are you going?" Kadaj called lazily from the kitchen.

"School, emo-boy. I'm going with Luxia." Yazoo replied with an expectant voice.

"Right, whatever, sis." Replied Kadaj. Yazoo grinned to himself. That was what he wanted to hear.

The whole female charade was really nothing without the full support of Yazoo's good old siblings.

Yazoo never really wanted to be a boy in the first place. He just was, and that was the thing. He was a girl at heart, and luckily enough, his father and brothers respected that.

So, since they moved to the new city, Yazoo thought that it would be a great new opportunity for the new 'her'. As well as Yazoo's best friend, who happened to be just like 'her'.

(A/N: Yeah, for purposes you could figure out yourself, from here on in, Yazoo and 'friend' shall be referred to as female)

Yazoo grabbed her bag and went out to see a hot pink corvette waiting outside, driven by her best friend, Marluxia.

Now Yazoo and Marluxia had met a while back when the latter had a vacation in Yazoo's old town, and they learned that they were just like each other; they both went out of their way to convince people they were female.

It wasn't all that hard, since they both could look the part just fine. As for their figures, they remedied that with padded undergarments. When Marluxia learned Yazoo would move to the town she was going to move to, both were thrilled.

This morning, Marluxia obviously decided that it was a good day to take the birthday present out for a spin. It was customized and a present from Luxia's beloved sister.

Yazoo got into the car and grinned at her pink-haired companion.

"So, ready to go, flower-boy?" She smirked and Marluxia started the car up with an identical cat-like smile.

"Only when you are. Do you think your dad would mind if I borrowed his new shampoo?" The pink-head wondered.

"He doesn't have new shampoo." Yazoo said. "Not anymore he doesn't. Anyway, it works better for me." Marluxia grinned, flipping her hair. "No flipping while driving." Yazoo murmured in good spirits, excited for the new day ahead of them.

"You think we should've left off the hot pink corvette? People are staring, Lu." Yazoo whispered.

"Let them deal with that." Marluxia replied confidently. She was completely in control when she stepped out, and eyes followed the pink-haired beauty, and Yazoo stifled a laugh as Marluxia flipped her hair for added effect.

"No way are you out-flipping me, Lulu." Yazoo muttered, grinning as she herself made a dramatically big exit from the car and the two made one hell of a commotion.

This was win number one for the pair on their first day of an interesting year.

* * *

"Hey, Axel, sounds like we've got new frou-frous girls in the school. Demyx told me about them. They've got a freaking pink corvette!" Larxene exclaimed. 

"You just don't want to let them out-bitch you, Larxy. Anyway, we'll just deal with them like we do the usual skank squad. Can't be that hard." Axel said smugly.

"Right, so you're saying these guys will be just like Amanda, Kate and Darienne? Let's see if I can't change that." Larxene said.

* * *

"They were practically drooling all over the floors, Luxia! Oh, we are good." Yazoo said triumphantly while she and Marluxia found their lockers. "Yeah, we are. Hey, Yaz, be careful though." Said the pink-head. 

"Hmm? Why?"

"I saw some girl. She was giving me the death glare of the century. I think we've made an enemy before we even started talking to anyone."

Yazoo groaned and hit her head on the locker. "This is bad. Marluxia, what if this'll ruin our good start?"

"It won't. I swear to you, Yaz, I won't destroy your year."

* * *

Marluxia felt like bad karma was getting at her. First the death glare, and then a class jerk. 

As she entered her first class, she bumped into a male with flaming red hair and tattoos underneath his eyes.

"Hey, watch where you're going." Was Marluxia's automatic remark, but when the male held out his hand to her, she clammed up and moved to grab it. But he snatched it out of her reach.

"Why don't you?" He said irritably, going in. Marluxia sighed. She definitely wasn't in the mood for this.

She got up off her butt and entered the classroom, keeping as straight a face as possible (A/N: ironic, isn't it?)

Somehow, the classroom got marginally quieter when she came in, but as she stood at the door, a hand was put on her shoulder and a man that must have been a teacher asked her, "You're the new student, am I right?"

She nodded at him. He looked strange; he had long blue hair and a scar on his forehead. He led her to the front of the room as people had already gotten to their seats.

"This is our new student. I hope you'll treat her well and don't try anything stupid on her just because she's new that will send your asses to the principal's office." Announced the teacher. Then he turned to her.

"I'm Saïx Luna, just call me what your classmates call me. And you?" "Marluxia Gainsborough." Marluxia replied.

"I'll leave it to you to introduce yourself to the class. Sit- hmm… Over there, in the empty seat near the window." He told her. She went over to the seat and felt eyes on her as she sat down.

And lo and behold, she was lucky enough to have a certain someone in the seat behind her. "Oh, look, it's pinky." Said the redhead contemptuously.

"If you've got a problem with my hair you can kiss yours goodbye in the next two minutes." Marluxia said calmly.

"Geez, wake up on the wrong side of the flowerbed today? I can't believe you're a Gainsborough. How can you be related to good ol' Aerith? She's way too nice to be any way related to you." The redhead remarked.

"She's my sister. And you sort of ruined a good day for me so don't go saying anything I'll make you regret." Marluxia's eyes narrowed.

"Hey, don't worry about Axel, he's always like that. Hey, Pinky, you Aerith's sis?" Marluxia turned to see a blonde girl grinning in the seat beside hers.

"My name is Marluxia, not Pinky. And yeah, Aerith's my sister. Who're you?" Marluxia asked, annoyed because of the lack of proper introduction.

"Larxene's the name. That pyro behind you is Axel." The blonde replied.

"Yeah, I kinda figured he was a pyro." Marluxia remarked.

"Hey, have I seen you before?" Axel said suddenly. "Yes, when you bulldozed me at the door." Marluxia replied.

Axel frowned and silenced.

"I like your attitude, Marly." Larxene laughed.

"Yeah, well, if you call me Marly again, you're getting a taste of this 'attitude'." Marluxia threatened cheerfully.

"Fine. Marlu?"

"No."

"Marl?"

"No way."

"Pinky?"

"Not a chance in hell."

"Marla?"

"What the fuck?"

"Marxy?"

"…"

"Marxy it is then." Larxene said smugly, and Marluxia sighed.

"You win. Hey, by the way, what do people call Mr. Luna here?" Marluxia asked, her eyes reverting to the bluenette who had his back to them as he wrote on the board.

"Saïx. Just Saïx, no Mr., no Luna. He's a cool teacher, definitely, but in every sense scary when he wants to be or when he gets pissed off." Larxene replied.

"That's nice." Marluxia said absently, feeling eyes on her again. But that wasn't going to be easy to take care of since it seemed like everyone was staring at her except a fair few people.

"Hey, Marxy, a piece of advice. Keep away from the 'popular girls', or as I like to call them, the skank squad. They're more trouble than they're worth." Larxene said seriously, before Saïx called everyone's attention.

* * *

Yazoo was obviously having a better day, when she got introduced to the class. When she sat down, someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she was face-to-face with a male with fiery red hair and tattoos under his eyes. 

"Yo. Name's Reno." He said, an easy-going look on his face. Yazoo smiled back her winning grin, feeling victorious in her own mind.

_A point for me. I wonder how much Luxia's got. _Yazoo turned back and feigned attentiveness, mentally tracing Reno's smug expression.

_I wonder if it's a good time to believe in love at first sight._

* * *

Yazoo was keen on finding Marluxia in the lunch room, wanting to tell her all the good stuff that happened, although she shut up before she could even say a word, seeing the infamous 'piss me off even more and I'll kill you' look on the brunette's face. 

Yazoo whistled. "Bad day?" She said timidly. Marluxia's glare shut her up once again.

"I've met four bitches, three ditzes, two bastards and a son-of-a-bitch in the last four hours. I won't even ask about your day, sunshine, you're obviously beaming." Marluxia, at least lightening up a bit at the last comment.

"Sorry." Yazoo said slowly.

"Sorry? You're kidding me. Come on, tell me all about it." Marluxia's glare vanished and was replaced with a smile.

"Well, first I met this guy-"

"Stop right there, I don't wanna hear it." Marluxia cut off, turning her attentions from her friend to her egg sandwich.

As Yazoo started whining, their conversation was cut off when someone approached.

"Hey, Marxy." Larxene stood beside their virtually empty table and smirked. "Marxy? Why didn't I think of that?" Yazoo wondered aloud, smiling wryly.

"Oh hey, Yazoo. Oh hey, Larx. Larxene, Yazoo, Yazoo, Larxene." Marluxia said in a bored tone.

"Great, then. Join the table." Larxene said, almost good-naturedly.

Marluxia looked at her questioningly as well as looking like Larxene had grown a second head that looked like Snow White.

They followed her to two tables put together and a number of interesting-looking people.

"Well, anyway, I'm hungry so this is Demyx, that emo kid's Zexion, kid over there's Roxas, and other kid's Yuffie. The others ain't here yet, so it isn't my problem." Larxene said quickly, ignoring the simultaneous exclamations of Roxas and Yuffie, indignantly saying, "I'm not a kid!"

Marluxia noticed that Yuffie and Demyx seemed to have identical smiles, and Zexion had his face buried in a book. Roxas looked just about unconcerned but otherwise normal.

Yazoo kept looking around, as if expecting someone, but the next thing Marluxia saw didn't make her feel any better.

Yazoo heard hat might've been a hiss, but it was just Marluxia sounding displeased.

The svelte silver-head looked where her friend was looking and her heart almost skipped a beat, but immediately realized that she thought wrong.

A familiar red head was walking over, tattoos under his eyes and an easy-going expression, but he wasn't the teen Yazoo had seen that morning; the tattoos were somewhat different and the hair was as well.

"Oh, hey, pinky." He drawled, seating himself beside Roxas. "Axel." Marluxia said vituperatively.

Yazoo sighed and was about to give up on looking around when someone tapped her on the head lightly. It was he, she realized as she turned around.

"Reno." Yazoo said cheerily, contrasting heavily to Marluxia's former tone.

Marluxia stared at Reno as anyone would to see the twins, their identicalness adding to their extremely unique demeanor for anyone's shock.

"Yo, Pinky." Reno said, seating himself beside Axel. Marluxia glared, making Reno shudder involuntarily.

"Don't mind Luxia, but I'm pretty sure Pinky doesn't work. This is my best friend Marluxia. Lu, that's Reno. " Yazoo said pointedly.

"Got'cha." Reno said. "The displeasure's all mine." Marluxia mumbled.

Yazoo slapped her lightly on the shoulder blade.

Even Marluxia cracked the tiniest of smiles.

_Maybe it won't be so bad._

* * *

First chapter XD Skank squad got inspired by Lady K. too, from her AC 90210 story. Well anyway, I won't be likely to continue without readers, and how the hell should I know there are readers without reviews? Anyway, hope you review my beloved people. :3 Flames shall be fended off by Axel.

Axel: You didn't give me power over fire in this story.

Billie: Damn. hides under sheep

Salamat, thanks


	2. tantamount to trouble

Uhhh, yeah, this isn't the main bit, it's leading up to the better part ; Heh, sorry for the shortness.

I disclaim ownership for all that I should.

Oh, and thanks for the reviews people!

* * *

Yazoo was one shout away from murdering her brothers, who had just woken her up from one very happy dream. (Happygay XD)

As for whatever his brothers were gallivanting around for downstairs, she'd have to deal with it after a shower. Unfortunately…

"KADAJ!!!! Where is my shampoo?"

"Did you hear something?" Loz said as he forked his bacon. Kadaj shrugged. "Probably just Yazoo bitching."

"Don't insult your sister." Sephiroth said in a bored monotone. "Yes, dad." The boys chorused.

Sephiroth wasn't one to judge, so it made things easier when Yazoo had decided to tell him how 'she' felt when the second-born was thirteen.

Back then, the father of three wasn't a little more than surprised, although it took a while to work things out with Yazoo. When Sephiroth had announced they were moving, Yazoo was elated.

Even with the two younger siblings arguing every morning, with a little more colorful a vocabulary than the single father might hope for, he knew that the three of them were closer than any normal trio.

"Kadaj, you are a liar!"

"I AM NOT! That was my shampoo, and you know it!"

"HAH! So you admit you took it!"

Close as they were, this was really getting irritating.

* * *

At the Gainsborough household… Which isn't necessarily a household, but a flowershop with extra rooms…

Marluxia had peaceful mornings, unlike her best friend. She and Aerith sat together in the back of the shop.

The elder could buy the two of them an apartment if she wanted to; Aerith was, in fact, rich, from the fortune left to the two of them by their deceased parents, but the siblings were happy with their current living conditions, and kept the money for future use.

But then, it didn't mean Aerith couldn't indulge just a little bit; noting the fact that she had her own personal greenhouse built behind the shop, and that she had decided to buy Marluxia a Chevrolet Corvette for her birthday.

As great as it was, Aerith's happy-go-lucky attitude didn't rub off on Marluxia nearly as much.

For about a week into school, Marluxia showed just how strange she could be; she hung out with people who insulted her day in and day out, not including sweet-tempered Yazoo.

Next to the silver-head, Larxene and Axel became Marluxia's best friends, whose relationship with Marluxia could be described as love-hate.

People seemed to find it ironic; by the end of the week, the two new girls caught the attention of the whole school, and they decide to hang out with people who probably weren't worth mentioning. At least, a certain trio thought so.

Amanda, Kate, and Darienne could see that the spotlight was off them since the new girls came to town.

(A/N: Sorry for the interruption, but before we move on, the OC's names are derived from something very meaningful.

Amanda shares a name with the first Queen Bitch I came to know who was all high and mighty, acting just like someone you'd see from mean girls. She got kicked out of our school by fifth grade.

Kate is pretty much the same, but doesn't think high and mighty. She's just shallow and likes to insult people.

Darienne is non-existent; she originally came from a book called 'flight #116 is down'. She's an apathetic, stuck-up little witch, who gets all the glory,

Anyway, back to the story ;)

"Well, what do you think? They're climbing to the top of the food chain, Amanda, and it's only been a week." Kate said, flipping her pigtailed hair. She held her reputation of being the 'cute' one from the three, but to some people, (ehem Larxene and co.) she just looked even more like an over decorated poodle.

"Obviously, we've got to do something about it."

"Don't look at me." Darienne muttered.

"Forget it. I've got an idea anyway. I just need the right opportunity." Amanda said slowly, watching the table where the new girls sat.

* * *

"Obviously, he's slow on the uptake, and you're just freaking slow." Marluxia said.

Yazoo pouted. The two were walking, while the infamous pink corvette was with Aerith. For reasons only known to the brunette, Aerith had decided to borrow said Chevrolet Corvette so Yazoo and Marluxia had to walk.

It wasn't bad, really, although Marluxia still wondered why her sister had to borrow HER car when she has a perfectly good maroon JaguarXK8.

But going back to the original topic, Yazoo was talking with Marluxia about the very infamous, very irritating, and now monotonous subject of… Reno.

"What do I do?" Yazoo whined.

"Four simple words, my friend. Tell. Him. The TRUTH!!!" Marluxia practically screamed out the last word, making an uncannily good impression of Robin Williams.

"How can you find it so easy? Oh right, because you aren't plagued by the curse of liking people to the point of wanting to take them to b-" "Okayyy, let's not get to that." Marluxia interrupted.

"The point is, you haven't had a crush since… ever. How can you know what it's like?" Yazoo stated.

"I've had a crush before." Marluxia said defensively.

"On Orlando Bloom. That doesn't count." Yazoo declared.

The two crossed a bridge over the river; a quicker way to Marluxia's house, and just for a moment, Marluxia stared down at the hazy water contemplatively.

"It's nice." The brunette said. "What?" "The water. Plus it's quiet. Around here, I mean."

"That's nice." Yazoo said half-heartedly.

* * *

Axel wouldn't admit it. He would NEVER admit it, not to anyone. But…

He liked Marluxia. Nah, that was an understatement.

Somehow, Marluxia's ever-constant cynicism satisfied Axel's everyday needs. It amused him to a point that he found himself anticipative of every time he was able to see Marluxia's deep blue eyes and her sakura hair.

But if he ever told this to anyone, he'd probably jump off a cliff after, or more likely, before that ever happened.

Yazoo was right. Marluxia had never had a crush on anyone before. No girl, no guy had ever caught her eye. (I rhymed XD)

It didn't bother her before, but now that she thought about it…

"Marluxia! You've got visitors!" Aerith's voice rang from the shop up to her room, and Marluxia jumped up in surprise.

She pulled on her padding as quickly as possible, then a dark pink shirt over her upper body. Running down the stairs, she stopped in her tracks when she saw who was there to see her.

"Hey, Pinky." Axel said coolly, standing by Larxene who raised her hand in a batting gesture that was probably supposed to be a greeting, if the blonde hadn't been focused on whomever she was talking to on her portable phone.

"What?" Marluxia said, less than graciously, earning a somewhat scolding look from Aerith which she ignored.

"Gotta go, mom; I'm talking with Marluxia. Who's she? Someone you'd probably rather have for a daughter. B-bye now." Larxene clicked off her phone just as Marluxia could hear screaming on the other end.

"So, anyway… Let's go!" Larxene declared. "Go where?" Marluxia demanded irritably, looking bewildered.

"Out." Larxene replied shortly.

"So you expect me to go with you wherever the hell you're going with no heads up or warning whatsoever?" Marluxia said.

Larxene and Axel looked at each other and nodded.

There was about a moment of silence.

"Fine." Marluxia muttered, going back up the stairs.

Axel and Larxene grinned in triumph.

* * *

"Come on, pick up…" Yazoo mumbled, her ear pressed to the phone. After a fourteenth ring, she gave up.

_Marluxia didn't say she had plans… _Yazoo thought. "Am I really so pathetic that I've got nothing to do on a Friday night?" She said out loud to her whitewashed ceiling.

Yazoo ignored the 'YES' that came from Kadaj in the next room.

When the doorbell rang, Yazoo ignored that too. Until Loz knocked on her door.

"Hey, uh- sis, there's someone here to see you." He said, somewhat uneasily, Yazoo could tell.

If it were Marluxia, Loz wouldn't have gone through the lengths of knocking on the unlocked door, so Yazoo changed quickly before coming out.

There stood three girls, whom Yazoo recognized from school.

"Hi there, Yaz! Remember me? Amanda, from your History class?" The middle female said in an obnoxiously perky voice.

"Uh, yeah, hi." Yazoo said uncertainly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Have you got any plans tonight?" Amanda asked, a little more than graciously.

* * *

dundundundun!!!!!!!!!!! Uh yeah, it'll be bad... XD

Oh, and the robin williams thing, you know the Aladdin movie right?

Well anyway, it'll be hell week soon.

The more interesting part's coming up, in which Marluxia gets something before Yazoo, and Yazoo bitches.

Enough said.


	3. Try something different

Okay, this was a long time coming, but I kinda got stuck at the mall part... You'll see. Anyway, with exams and all... You know. Sorry T.T for the long wait.

* * *

"Seriously, your face is green. Larxene, I know you wanna be tough and all, but green or whatever color your chunks will be certainly won't look good on my shirt." Marluxia said, shaking her head wearily.

"At least I'm not a pansy like Axel. This is his, what? Third time in the bathroom? He's probably got his head down the toilet." Larxene said.

The trio had just finished watching a sickeningly gross horror/gore film that had obviously affected 98 percent of the audience in the movie house. Not in a good way.

In fact, only Marluxia and a handful of others didn't barf on the way out of the theater. "Why do YOU have such a strong stomach?" Larxene demanded about an hour later.

"My sister. Don't ask…" Marluxia sighed, remembering the days when Aerith was still in her 'awkward stage' in cooking. Well, actually, awkward was the understatement of the century, and in present time, Marluxia could have withstood eating a redwood tree.

"So, I guess eating is out of the question, huh?" Marluxia said after a bit, looking at the other two's disgruntled faces.

* * *

"We've kinda noticed who you've been hanging out with for a while, so we wanted to warn you." Kate said, looking confiding as she whispered it dramatically.

"Warn me what?" Yazoo questioned, sipping her frap and looking at them tentatively. They'd gotten her out to the mall, and right now, had her hanging on to her every word.

"That guy Axel? And that Larxene. They're trouble, believe me." Kate said. "Tell her, Dar."

Darienne gave an exasperated sigh, but started. "Axel Flynn; he's the guy who almost got arrested in second year. Know what? The only reason they let him go was since he was too young, but he got into one hell of a gang fight a while back. He's bad news."

Yazoo didn't doubt this, although Axel wasn't to be judged that easily; what, were they trying to turn her against Marluxia's friends?

"He put six people in the ICU." That bit of info started Yazoo out of her reverie. Six people. Was he really…?

"And that Larxene Yuko. She came from Japan, did you know? Not a lot of people know this, but… that gang fight? She shot someone then. Even worse, she used her own father's gun. I did my research; her dad's a Japanese mafia member." Darienne was evidently thrilled by her own retelling.

Yazoo was alert now, just as her attention was wavering, thinking that it was all a joke. How could she lie about something like that?

"So, yeah, think about it Yazoo. Don't take this the wrong way; since you're new, we really want to help you out." Amanda said kindly.

Yazoo pursed her lips and nodded.

* * *

"I swear, that woman was stalking us. Well, maybe just Axel. Did you see her eyes? They looked like a mouse's. That was NOT normal, no way in hell." Larxene was the only one speaking, and Axel wasn't listening at all.

Marluxia noticed this, but more importantly she noticed that Axel kept looking in her direction, but was pretty bent on hiding it.

The brunette cheered inwardly, though at the same time wondered why.

It wasn't too hard to figure out, though, and Marluxia was far from being an idiot.

Of course, she didn't have much time to think on it, most of the reason being Larxene's fault. "Er…. Larx… Is that… yours?" Axel stuttered.

Marluxia looked up and saw what Axel was pointing at: an extravagant, to say the least, black limo drove up to the three of them.

Larxene sighed thickly, and waved callously. "My mom's probably been over the entire city looking for me. Well, see you guys on Monday. If I feel like it."

In the next five minutes, Larxene had driven away, and had left Axel and Marluxia to themselves.

"So… You think I could convince Aerith to let me freeload off her cooking?" Axel said.

"No." Marluxia said, a little too quickly.

Axel raised a shorter-than-natural eyebrow. "I mean… don't push your luck." Marluxia added, somewhat nervously.

"Fine." Axel said, turning away. "I can tell when I'm not wanted."

"Axel…. Geez, I didn't mean…" Axel was walking away. "Hey! Axel!" Marluxia called, exasperated.

"Axel… Do you wanna eat with us? I mean, you can…" Marluxia said quickly.

At that point, Axel spun around, a wide smirk on his face. "You're way too easy, Marluxia." He laughed, running past her. "Dammit Axel!" She yelled.

* * *

"Dammit, Marluxia, why won't you answer? If something's happened…" Yazoo muttered.

Her anxiety was more or less interrupted when Kadaj burst into her room. "For the umpteenth time, GET OFF THE PHONE!!!" He yelled. Yazoo flicked him on the forehead.

"Don't bother me, spazz." She said.

"I am not a spazz! And why should I take orders from you?" Kadaj demanded.

"Because it's my birthright to order you around, dear little brother. And technically Loz wouldn't dare argue with me so I've got every right to order BOTH of you around."

Kadaj's eye twitched with frustration, but he couldn't argue with that logic. (A/N: Cuz I say so XD)

"You're a bitch Yazoo." Kadaj said through gritted teeth. He stomped out of the room, making sure to make a lot of noise. "Good night, Spazz!" Yazoo called out, just as he slammed the door.

* * *

"Oh yeah, this is the life!" Axel said, eating heartily.

"Pig." Marluxia said, her mouth twitching at the corners. Aerith smiled across the table.

* * *

_Marluxia, looks like you're doing well. Much better than ever. _She thought.

_A small boy sat on his feet, away from all the other kids fooling around in the playground. His brown hair was wild and covered his eyes, and he just sat there in a crouched position, his eyes fixed on the bush in front of him._

_The child was only around seven or eight, and unlike all the other noisy, annoying frolicking children, he was alone, quiet, and almost as if he wasn't actually there. _

_The blonde teen watched the child with more than a little curiosity, although normally he wouldn't let things such as that bother him. _

_The blonde sat on the park bench, his long hair tied back and his reading glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. _

_He tried to concentrate on his notes, but couldn't take his attention off the child. _

_He watched with interest as the child seemed engrossed in something, for he was now fiddling with the bush's leaves, but the blonde saw as some larger kids approached him. _

_From where he sat, the sixteen-year old could obviously see that the larger kids were intent on bullying the smaller one, and soon enough, he saw the child run as stones were thrown at him by the larger bullies._

_They cornered him at a tree and started kicking his crouched form, although this time he was crouched because the child was trying to protect himself from the blows._

_Finally, Vexen couldn't stand it. He approached them._

"_What do you think you kids are doing?" He said, and the children stopped and stared at his sharp expression with fright. _

_Without saying a thing, the kids ran off, leaving the blonde with the small, frightened boy._

"_Are you all right?" Vexen asked plainly, reaching for the child, but the boy shied away from the touch. _

"_Are you all right?" Vexen repeated more gently, putting his bony hand on the boy's small arm._

_The boy looked up, and Vexen saw the deepest blue eyes staring back at him from under the thick, fluffy hair._

_Vexen brushed the child's brownish hair away from his face and saw an effeminate face reflecting fright, and spotted with some fresh bruises. Also, his lip was bleeding and as it dripped down, Vexen wiped away the scarlet line with his thumb._

"_Let's fix you up, shall we? Where are your parents?" The blonde asked, retaining his placid tone. _

_The boy seemed afraid to respond, but took a deep breath. "They… don't know I'm here." He said shakily. _

"_You really shouldn't go out by yourself. Do you remember how to get home?" Vexen admonished. _

_The boy nodded. Vexen helped him up by his small hand and the two walked down the path. "I ran away." The boy said quietly. _

"_Where did you think you would go?" Vexen said with doubt. _

_The boy shook his head._

"_I didn't think that far. I just wanted to go." _

"_What were you doing in the playground?" Vexen asked._

"_I was fixing the plant."_

"_Fixing-?"_

"_It was sad. It had no flowers. Only one. But it's too bad. They stepped all over it." The boy said despondently. _

"_Then… plant a new one." Vexen said. _

_The boy looked up at him._

"_If one thing fails to bloom, try another way, and thrive on that. If that fails, take another path. Always try different ways and soon you'll end up with something to show for. That's life. It's like… an experiment. Try something different;, maybe things will be better." _

_The boy looked up at Vexen with curiosity. "Are you like… A scientist, mister?" The boy asked._

"_I will be. And don't call me mister, it makes me feel old." Vexen snapped._

"_Well… you're older than me. And I don't know what to call you." The child pointed out innocently. _

"_Vexen. But I don't know your name." The teen said._

"_My name is… Marluxia." The boy said faintly. _

"_Well then Marluxia, don't forget what I told you, alright?" Vexen said, a rare smile gracing his thin face._

* * *

"Good night, freeloader." Marluxia called after Axel.

"You too, bitchy." Axel called back, resulting in the door slamming in his face.

Marluxia felt unusually tired as she trudged up to her room, contrary to Axel's energy just a few minutes before, which was practically burning with brightness.

_He's such a kook. _Marluxia thought amusedly.

Just then, the phone rang just a few feet away from where Marluxia was standing.

"Hello?" Marluxia said wearily. "Finally! Do you know how many times I've been trying to call?" Yazoo's infuriated voice blasted from the other end.

"I'm guessing somewhere along the lines of twenty-three." Marluxia said, looking at the phone's history.

"Well, what was so important that you had to call this many times?"

"I need to warn you: **Stay away from Axel and Larxene."**

Marluxia's eyes widened.

"Why?" She said calmly.

"They're big trouble. Marluxia… they got into a gang fight. Larxene shot someone."

Marluxia frowned.

"Luxia? Luxia!"

"I'll think about it." Marluxia replied.

"What do you mean you'll think about-" Marluxia hung up.

* * *

So anyway... The spazz thing XD I got from LeoOsaka from deviantart XD Sorry Leo.

And as for Axel and Larxene's names... Flynn is the last name of Axel's english voice actor, while Larxene's is the first name of her japanese voice actor. And right now, I'm typing 15 words a minute cuz my brother's about to use the comp . Anyway... XD Hope you like. Suggestions prevent writer's block!!!


	4. Dirty Little Secret 2

Okay , Merry Christmas everyone XD I might've finished this yesterday but we went to the beach for my sister. (F.Y.I. If it snowed where I come from you'd be sure that the end of the world is nearing) Anyway, sorry if I take so long to update but I'm trying to put together the puzzle pieces in my story and I coul really use some suggestions or friendly advice maybe?

Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.

Yazoo will not do well here though.

I disclaim ownership of everything but the OCs and this storyline.

* * *

The Saturday was relatively quiet compared to the former day's events, but Yazoo's head was steaming that morning, mostly because she was indignant since Marluxia had hung up on her after her tormenting twenty-three calls. 

On this day, the silver-head had nothing to do, and didn't dare make contact with Marluxia, mostly out of spite.

Yazoo was a stubborn person at heart, even if she knew that they'd act like nothing happened come Monday morning. But the issue at hand was whether or not Marluxia would remember what Yazoo told her.

Yazoo didn't know what to believe, but she hoped that she could tread safe ground for once in her life.

_Three small boys played in the den of the house, their playing a little more on the lines of fighting; the oldest brother was crying while the two younger ones were trying to pull each other's hair out, when peace came in the form of the boys' mother._

_Her hair was beautiful, long and flowing silver. The hoary color of the tresses, ironically, didn't make her look any older, and the flowing locks made her seem even younger and more stunning. _

_This was their mother. Their beloved mother, who did all the right things and made the right choices, and the one they looked up to._

_And yet, she wasn't all that they thought she was. Only Yazoo understood that. Loz and Kadaj never believed a word of what their father had said then. _

_Jenova was taken away for her own good, and so that she wouldn't hurt others anymore. Kadaj refused to believe that their mother would ever hurt them, but Yazoo knew._

_Yazoo was the only one who saw this side of mother. Just because Yazoo was the one from the three children who looked just like her._

_Jenova said that Yazoo was unfair to hurt her that way. Yazoo didn't understand at the time. Jenova said that Yazoo hurt her with the way he looked. _

_Just like her._

_It was the day Jenova nearly killed Yazoo, when he turned ten. At the time, he looked so much like Jenova it hurt both of them._

_Kadaj thought it would be funny to dress Yazoo up like a girl, since he looked so much like one. They didn't think much of it at the time. But this made Jenova snap somehow._

_If Sephiroth hadn't stopped her, things might've gotten worse. But that did it. _

_Ever since then, Yazoo himself wasn't even sure why he wanted to change. Maybe it was out of spite for Jenova. It seemed that everything he did was out of spite._

* * *

"Hey, Marluxia, wanna go out? What the hell, that's so cheesy. Uh… Not doing anything today…? Damn, am I THAT pathetic?" (A/N: I… can probably answer that XD) Axel kicked a stone on his way to Marluxia's house. 

His eyes followed the rolling piece of cement, which hit the stone railing of the bridge, and when he looked up, he saw Marluxia, leaning over the stone guardrail and staring into space.

Today Marluxia seemed different to him; unlike many other days, today Marluxia wore something very simple and old, which seemed not to suit the way she was at all. Marluxia wore only a simple blouse and old jeans, that didn't look like they were owned by either she nor Aerith; they were probably two sizes too big on her.

Axel's eyes widened when he saw Marluxia raise one of her legs and cross over the railing, sitting on the stone and swinging her legs precariously over the water.

She swung her legs continuously but did nothing else, and continued staring into nothing in particular. Axel approached.

"Hey." He called out, but when he got Marluxia's attention, it was in a different way than he'd planned. When the brunette saw him, she seemed to lean back on her right hand abruptly, but her hand barely missed the edge of the railing.

And then she fell.

"_I was six, I think. Or maybe seven. My parents brought us out to their new boat out on the ocean. I was excited at first." Marluxia said, lying back on the low branch, right over where Vexen sat._

_The brunette was twelve, and had input into his daily habits to visit Vexen every possible moment, sometimes just to annoy him, but mostly because the blonde's presence was peaceful to him._

"_Then I did something really stupid. Whatever it was, it brought me down, way down under the water." Marluxia said, shivering. _

"_So what you're saying is that you're afraid of water." Vexen said jadedly, keeping his eyes on his books._

"_Not water in general; that's crazy. I'm kind of afraid of something along the lines of… a swimming pool, maybe?" Marluxia said._

"_I see." Vexen said uninterestedly, making Marluxia pout._

"_Why do I even bother if you don't listen to me?" He said._

"_I've been asking myself that very question for years." Vexen muttered, earning a smack on the head._

"_But of course," Vexen started, as though pointing out the obvious, "What you're trying to say is that you can't swim, am I right?" _

Marluxia broke the water's surface painfully.

"_Yeah. I can't." _

Axel wasted no time in coming in after her, though this was a reflexive, irrational move. Not like he had the time to think it through anyway.

Marluxia was limp and unconscious when he pulled her up to the surface, swimming the both of them over to the water's edge: the ground beneath the bridge.

"Marluxia? Marluxia! Damn it, wake up." Axel said, shaking her by the shoulders but to no avail.

He then started pushing at her stomach, successfully pumping a little water out through Marluxia's coughs, although it was only a short victory when Marluxia didn't seem to wake up.

"God damn it! If you die here…" Axel looked around frantically, but the surrounding area had everything but people.

Axel then leaned over and covered Marluxia's mouth with his own, willing her to breathe and alternately pumping her stomach.

Then he noticed something. By impulse, his hands reached up to the already undone first button of her blouse and continued down to the second one. His eyes widened.

Right at that moment, Marluxia's palm made hard contact with Axel's face.

"Ow! What the hell!" Axel glared at Marluxia, but the brunette had turned away, shaking.

"You… saw…" Marluxia whispered. Axel was at a loss for words, knowing exactly what Marluxia was talking about.

"Axel, I swear, if you tell anyone about this you won't live to see tomorrow!!!"

Axel wasn't able to say a thing, and the two were silent after Marluxia's choked-out threat.

Then, "So… all this time you've been lying about your sexuality… Uh…" Axel started. _Well… this is awkward. _Was the first thought that came to mind.

"Lying… I suppose that's one word for it…" Marluxia muttered.

"Oh… hey! Aren't you gonna get hypothermia or crap like that if you don't get dried up? I'm pretty sure I will." Axel said suddenly.

Marluxia looked gratefully at him for the change of subject.

"Well… let's get to my house. We've got lots of extra clothes." She said.

* * *

It was Monday. Yazoo had no clue why she hadn't had a chance to hang with Marluxia over the weekend but thought nothing of it, hurrying to find her best friend in at her locker. 

Right then, she stopped in her tracks when she saw Marluxia at her locker with, wouldn't you know it, Axel.

The silver-head couldn't believe it. Hadn't she just warned her to stay away from the guy?

She stalked over. "Morning Yaz." Marluxia said insipidly. "Can I talk to you for a sec? **Alone**?" Yazoo said. Marluxia shrugged, allowing Yazoo to drag her by the wrist, away from the redhead.

"Do you happen to recall what I informed you the last time we were able to talk over the phone?" Yazoo demanded as soon as they were around the corner.

"Yes." Marluxia responded shortly.

"So why are you still hanging out with Mr. Bad-guy MacBeat-up over there?" Yazoo demanded shrilly.

"Because he obviously was falsely accused and he's definitely not a bad person." Marluxia replied, starting to irritate Yazoo with her bluntness.

"Oh? How can you tell?"

"Mainly since he saved my life over the weekend and pretty much is on the same level as you now."

"Same level?"

"He knows my secret."

"**WHAAAAT???!!!"**Yazoo's voice practically reached the science lab on the other side of the school, although the exclamation was soon shrugged off by most of the students.

"You told him?" Yazoo demanded.

"He found out himself a little bit after saving my life." Marluxia said with the same dull tone.

"Okay… How was it that he saved your life?"

"I fell into the water. He jumped in after me. Long story short, my cover was blown and my fear of water just elevated by ten percent."

"Oh… well, that's nice. But what about the fact that Larxene still happens to be the daughter of a gang member and the two probably get the most days of detention in our year?" Yazoo said angrily.

"Reno does too, and I don't see you dumping on him." Marluxia said slyly. Yazoo turned about as pink as Marluxia's hair.

"Reno hasn't sent anyone to the ICU." The silver-head said through clenched teeth.

"Says you." Marluxia muttered.

Yazoo's eye twitched. "Fine, if you're gonna be that way…" She didn't finish her sentence and stalked away.

Marluxia felt guilty for doing what she did to Yazoo, but she just HAD to be wrong about Axel. He wouldn't have done that to anyone.

…

Correction, he wouldn't have done that to anyone **without good reason.**

_Maybe I'll ask him about it. _She thought decidedly, wondering why she hadn't thought about it before.

* * *

In one of her classes, Marluxia was with Demyx, who was annoying her to high heavens but she somehow enjoyed it. 

"Sowhat'dyoudolastfriday?IplayedagigforZexyintheteenbardowntownyouknowClubTwilightthat'swhereIworkateveryfridayandsometimessaturdaysandIgetareallygoodpayyouwannacomearoundwatchmesometime?" The exuberant blonde said in one breath.

Marluxia blinked one or five times before saying, "Uh… that's great. Sure… maybe I'll come around sometime."

"Hey… Is there something wrong with Yazoo?" Demyx said suddenly, looking quite serious indeed.

"Why would you ask that?"

"See… I saw her earlier. She was hanging out with Amanda, Kate, and Darienne. I was just worried, that's all." The blonde informed her.

Marluxia's face turned grave. _Is that why she's acting so weird? _She then realized how serious things could get now. Great. Just flipping great.

* * *

"I cannot believe this. That bitch!" Larxene muttered, staring at the 'Skank Squad's table'. 

Marluxia was silent, and Axel could probably guess how despondent she felt about her friend's probable betrayal.

Of course, the past episode from the weekend had been forced out of the redhead's mind, or at least he tried to force it out, but bit-by-bit he realized that whatever he had felt for Marluxia before he'd found out was still there.

Whoopdee-flippin'-doo.

* * *

"Listen, Yazz, she doesn't deserve having you for a friend. I mean, she downright refused your warning, when you cared about her safety!" Kate said. 

Yazoo sighed, looking over to the table. It seemed as though everything was normal, but she caught one or two death glares from the crowd.

"None of them deserve to have you around Yazoo. By the looks of things it seems like they don't want you around anymore, seeing as you badmouthed their ringleaders." Darienne muttered.

"Which is why you should hang with us instead." Amanda said bluntly.

The other two looked bewildered at her frankness but Yazoo seemed too distracted to tell. Then the silver-head turned to them.

"You're probably right. Thanks girls." She said, sighing.

"Don't worry, Yazz. We'll be right by you all the way, unlike miss Pinky over there." Amanda said resolutely.

"Right… thanks."

* * *

Okay, this was pretty short but I think I got my point across, and right now Yazoo is being a bitch. Yeah. I don't like to antagonize him/her but this is all part of the big plan. Well anyway, I know what I'm gonna do but I don't know how to go about it so reviews are wanted and suggestions are welcome. 

I feel a writer's block coming on, hope it won't though.

R&R please.


	5. So that's what happened

Okay, so I've been pretty slow with school coming up, so I decided to make the chapter slightly longer this time. A bit of explanation here, a bitchin' there, and more. If you have requests, or more importantly, suggestions, I'd love to know.

I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy.

* * *

"Oh, I almost forgot. Before you join us, there's just one catch." Amanda said dully.

Yazoo snapped to attention.

* * *

"What, you think she's got a good reason for hanging out with those bimbos?" Axel snapped at his brother.

"I dunno, man. I know she ain't a bad person, yo, definitely not." Reno said defensively.

"Oh really? Has all that smoke finally seeped into your common sense? She's becoming one of them. Even Marluxia's getting the cold shoulder, and they're supposed to be best friends." Axel exclaimed.

"You know what, I'll prove it to you, yo. I'll go right over there and ask her myself." Reno said decidedly, getting up from the bench. Marluxia looked at the older redhead with knitted eyebrows.

"Don't do it, Reno." She said bluntly, her serious face deterring the redhead for only a second.

But Reno just flashed her a peace sign and made his way to the 'Skank Squad's' table.

* * *

Yazoo listened to their… 'terms'. _Oh fuck. _This was her first thought.

_Well, it isn't so bad. As long as I get a chance to explain it to the others before actually doing it. I can tell them that I won't mean whatever mean stuff I'm gonna say to them. I don't need to stop being nice to them, even if Amanda, Kate, and Darienne are unaware of it. _

The terms were: to show her loyalty to them by queen-bitching any one of the people at the table of her old 'friends'.

_As long as I avoid them for the time being, maybe I'll call Marluxia later and tell her about it; she'd understand, I know it. I'll just avoi- oh shit, no._

Reno was coming over. And the three normally thickheaded girls noticed it. "Now's your chance, Yaz." Kate said.

_I was afraid of that. _The silver-head thought.

* * *

After school… 

It was the end of the day, which went really badly. 'Badly' included Reno being publicly humiliated by Yazoo, followed by Yazoo (humiliated) by Marluxia, then Marluxia and co. by Amanda, Kate, and Darienne.

(A/N: Sorry for the interruption, but I want to apologize for skipping this episode in which there was humiliation but you don't know how much writer's block I was dealing with for this part of the story. I may elaborate later on, but right now I decided to skip that bit. Now we're going back to the story)

Aerith noticed that Marluxia didn't come home at the usual time, but her questions were answered when she saw an entire group of angst-ridden teens sitting outside her flower shop porch.

"Umm… Did I miss something?" Aerith asked, tentatively touching Marluxia's shoulder.

"Not really. We just followed Marluxia home." Demyx said innocently.

Aerith forgot to ask why when she saw the most miserable look on Marluxia's face.

In fact, the only other time she'd ever seen that face was when…

* * *

"_Alaska!?" The brunette exclaimed. _

_Marluxia nearly fell off the tree branch and glared at the older blonde._

_He was thirteen. Just turned a few days ago. The brunette considered himself to have taken on a big change, but this big change, he could not handle._

"_It's for research. You know how it is, Marluxia, I think I've taken enough time to explain it to you." Vexen said exasperatedly. _

"_But you never said anything about Alaska! That's too far away. Vexen, there's no way in hell I'd let you go that far away!" Marluxia declared angrily. _

_The brunette jumped down and faced Vexen with a fierce look, somewhat daunted by his still diminutive height. _

_Vexen removed his reading glasses and stared at Marluxia's stubborn face._

"_There are some things that can't go your way, Marluxia. Learn that." He said coldly._

_Vexen was always cold. At this time, Marluxia had an epiphany. No, more like a question._

_Why did he always want to be around someone so cold? It was… crazy? What was it, really? _

_Shouldn't a flower crave warmth? Vexen was the exact opposite of what Marluxia was so used to. _

_Maybe he was the change…the change that Marluxia wanted to know about. The change that Marluxia simply wanted. _

_But then he was going to leave. Marluxia didn't realize that he was crying. Vexen didn't either, until the brunette hugged him._

"_You're such a bastard." He cried into the blonde's chest. He expected Vexen to push him away. But the blonde merely sighed and let Marluxia melt into the embrace with tears flowing freely._

_Like a child, Marluxia said, "I don't want you to go." The brunette was back to four years ago, when he was still a lonely kid. Vexen allowed himself a moment of weakness and put his arms around the brunette._

"_How long until I see you again?" Marluxia asked quietly, unwilling to be as talkative and warm as he was for the past few years. It was like the first time Vexen had met him; he was quiet now. _

"_As long as you've seen me." Vexen said ambiguously. It took Marluxia a moment, but he realized what he meant. Four years, just about._

* * *

_When Aerith saw Marluxia come back, the boy looked strange. His expression had changed._

"_Sis, I wanna talk about… how I dress." He said. "What?" Aerith looked at her brother questioningly. _

"_I want to change. I want to… try something different." Was his reply._

* * *

"What you did was horrible! I can't believe you could be that stupid, you fucking moron!" Kadaj didn't spare his sister from a single angry expletive, who was taking them with a stony expression.

_Yes, and every single lie stung. _Yazoo blinked back tears.

_A bastard._

What she'd said was unforgivable.

_You are a punk who doesn't deserve to be around people who try to live their lives normally._

And they were all lies.

_You are pathetic. I want you to stay away from me._

She couldn't believe she'd said that to him.

"Are you even liste-" She slammed the bedroom door in her younger brother's face and broke down in her own room, sobbing her heart out more than she ever remembered doing.

She didn't even cry when her mother hurt her a long time ago. But Yazoo had lost something dear to her, by her own doing. It was all her fault.

* * *

The next day was an entirely different scene than the few days that had passed. Yazoo was now flanked by the other three popular queen bees of the hallways, and people smiled and complimented her even more.

The victory was sour to her, though, as it should've been. Her actions were rash and stupid. Very stupid. In fact, more idiotic than rash, seeing as she had enough time to think about it. Great.

"Yazoo, I know what you're thinking." Kate said 'empathetically'. Yazoo doubted it.

"It's not your fault one bit. You know that they're really dangerous. Let me show you something." Amanda said, leading her to the library.

* * *

_I wonder when sis will give me back my car. _Marluxia thought wistfully, hoping to get Yazoo's abandonment out of her head, but the attempt getting nowhere.

"Hey, Marxy, you okay?" Larxene queried, failing to put a sharp tone in her voice.

Axel raised a thin eyebrow and leaned over the back of his chair to look at the brunette.

"I feel fantastic. Super! Just dandy, thanks." She replied as dryly as her voice could manage. Larxene crossed her arms and knit her eyebrows in agitation.

"Those bitches must've said something that made Yazoo want to keep her away. Probably about-" The blonde began.

Marluxia barely caught the warning look that Axel gave Larxene.

"Tell me everything or I'll screw this pen up both your asses." Marluxia threatened.

Larxene was not intimidated by anyone. Axel was a stubborn person, and was disobedient by nature. But Marluxia was the exception to their laws of life.

It wasn't the threat. It was the brunette's mere presence and being that made them sway.

"Did Yazoo happen to mention anything?" Axel said after a long silence between them.

"She said you two were dangerous. Now, what is that supposed to mean, hmm?" Marluxia demanded softly.

Larxene sighed.

"It happened about a year ago. Almost two, now. Roxas remembers it too, isn't that right, shortie? You remember the 'incident'?" The blonde said. Roxas didn't even object to the nickname. His face was grave at the mention of this 'incident'.

Among the others sitting were Roxas' friends, Hayner, Pence, and Olette, who also reacted besides the already present Zexion, Demyx, and Yuffie. Even the two most hyper people at the table (Demyx and Yuffie) looked serious.

"Did someone die?" Marluxia muttered dryly.

"Almost." Zexion said.

Marluxia shut up.

* * *

_The town had had its fair share of crises, but one of the most memorable one, or, more appropriately, the one they wanted most to forget was the shooting._

_It was summer, so a lot of kids and teens refused to be cooped up in their homes, and so thus, the streets were filled with people hanging out here and there, talking, playing, and doing whatever they could before their summer ended._

_Right then, the peace (or as much peace that could be present around the gallivanting groups of kids) was broken when the sound of shooting filled the air. _

_Roxas was at the usual spot. He thought it would be safe to hide there with the others as soon as he heard the commotion, but they came around, wearing those black masks and waving their guns around, and laughing their fucking asses off. Roxas wanted to forget about the disgusting laughter; it sounded inhuman to him._

_When one of them pointed a gun in their faces, Roxas thought that he, Hayner, Pence and Olette were going to die. In fact, he was almost sure of it._

_But Axel came. It didn't make sense; Axel was supposed to be on vacation. He should've been out of town. What was he doing home two weeks too early?_

_Larxene was there too. Roxas saw them holding guns. If not for their faces, the guns might have made the four younger teens run away._

_It all seemed to happen in slow motion as Roxas watched Axel knock the masked guys down, notwithstanding the large number of men who were much bulkier than he was and held guns that looked more threatening than his own .45. _

_In the end, with only Larxene to back him up against about eight to ten guys, half of them holding what resembled shotguns, the redhead beat them all. _

_Axel acted oblivious to Roxas' presence when the blonde tried to talk to him, but when they started moving, Axel's grip didn't loosed on Roxas' arm as they ran through the streets of Twilight Town, chaos all around them._

_Then Roxas watched in horror as Larxene shot someone. A person without a mask, not even a gun. And Larxene pointed at him straight and shot him without hesitation. _

_Then Larxene backed the four into a corner with her back to them, arms spread as she raised her gun to shoot anyone who came near. She was protecting them, ironic to how she usually acted._

_And Axel got tackled by at least five men from all sides. Against all odds, Axel came out on top, and the ones who had attacked him probably wished they'd never been born, as far as Roxas could see._

_After two hours of forever to Roxas, things calmed down as the authorities rounded them up. Axel and Larxene were taken away and sent to the Juvenile Hall for the entire summer, two months in total. _

_Roxas listened to Axel and Larxene's side when they came back. That's when he started hanging out with them. _

_He'd known Axel for a while, but they'd never really been close until the incident. Then they were closer than brothers from then on._

"_That bastard? He was in on it. Made sure there weren't any cops around before they started." Larxene said coolly when Roxas asked why she'd shot the bystander._

"_How'd you know?" The blonde male asked suspiciously. _

"_When you've got a dad like mine…" Larxene didn't bother to finish her sentence. It didn't matter anyway; Roxas knew what she meant. _

_Axel had gotten a call from Larxene about the plan. Larxene had heard from her father about one of the rival gangs planning the shooting. She didn't think he'd actually come back, just for Roxas to be safe. _

_Axel got it worse than Larxene; he wasn't even able to plead self-defense, although one could say that he went a bit too far. The ones who attacked him resembled raw beef backside when he was done with them. _

_After that incident, they never wanted to talk about it again._

* * *

This was just one exception, for Marluxia's sake. The brunette understood now, at least.

"Ever since the incident, Axel and Larxene have gotten bad raps around school. People are really one-sided." Demyx said irritably.

"The important thing is now, so is Yazoo." Zexion added.

"That, I hope we can change." Marluxia muttered despondently.

* * *

Comments, SUGGESTIONS, questions, SUGGESTIONS, and such are welcome.

You don't know how much I need them --

Hope you enjoyed that chapter, or at least got satisfied.

Salamat. Thanks for reading


	6. Being Alone

Hey guys XD I've been away long Oo I'm sorry for the long wait. I really am. But Lent's over and I can finally work my stuff XD

This chapter, in the very least, is slightly long. I was even wondering if I should leave the story altogether, but words from a supportive person and the realization that leaving it hanging would ruin things for a lot of people got me to go on. And it's going better than I thought 8D

Enjoy guys! 8)

I don't own the characters except, technically, Amanda, Kate, and Darienne.

* * *

"She shot a civilian? I didn't- I thought…" Yazoo felt like the most obvious epiphany just slapped her awake, and she felt an entirely different feeling from the guilt she'd felt just a minute before.

She felt almost relieved now. Relieved that she'd nipped it in the bud and cut herself off from those people. The biting feeling of guilt had turned into the tiniest annoying buzzing in her insides. But it WAS still there.

"Hey Yazz… To take your mind off all this negative stuff, I've got a present for you. Like a welcoming gift from the three of us." Amanda said sweetly, nudging the silver-head's side.

Yazoo tilted her head to the side. "A party?" The invitation waved in her face was dark blue and sparkled like the night sky. To her, it was pretty corny, actually.

"The party of the century." Kate said excitedly. Yazoo nodded, half wondering how the conversation got from a shooting to a night party. Also wondering how to run it through with her dad.

* * *

"You doing anything today?" Marluxia asked casually.

It took Axel almost all his conscious willpower to keep his jaw from dropping. "What?"

"I need to thank you don't I? Also, I've got nothing to do, and I abhor boredom." The brunette said irately, sounding almost defeated.

"Like, just us?" Axel said with as level a voice as he could. "Why not?" Marluxia responded casually.

"I can answer that question."

It was a wonder to Marluxia how Larxene could pop up at every unexpected and inconvenient time and place she wanted to, and now was just like all the other times the blonde had proven that ability of hers.

"Nope. You kids aren't running off without Auntie Larxy around to watch you." She quipped maliciously. Axel felt relieved, but then somewhat disappointed. Wait, what?

"I suppose the old woman won't get off our backs, then." Marluxia said with an exaggerated sigh.

"Old woman? Why you little froufrou!" While Larxene satisfied herself in giving Marluxia a bad (or worse than it already was) case of bed hair, Axel was left to wonder what it was he was feeling just then.

* * *

The mall. A place where 21st century teens have established their 3rd home mentality.

This also happened to be the place the three somehow ended up in when none of them were inclined to go to the teenybopper central of the district.

Then again, things didn't really go as planned, did they; Larxene wasn't supposed to be coming either.

"So we technically came here without any plan whatsoever." Marluxia stated cynically. "Not quite, Marxy. We've got fun waiting right over there." Larxene said, pointing to the abstract stone benches under the steep escalators running right over them.

Marluxia squinted through the mass of people but saw only one blonde male who wasn't moving an inch from where he stood, and he looked exactly like the type Larxene would describe as 'fun'.

He had an elegant yet dangerous look to him, much like… well, a gangster. He had a number of piercings lining his earlobes, and the look in his eyes reflected the same sort of cockiness they were accustomed to seeing in Larxene's cattish ones.

"Well, hello there ducky. Fancy seeing you here." The man said with a cultured British accent, grinning cockily at the female blonde who approached him.

"Call me that again and you won't be showing half of your pretty face for the next year, buddy." Larxene said, a cocky smirk plastered on her face at the sight of the older male.

"Marxy, meet my cousin Luxord. Axel's had the pleasure." Larxene said in her lazy way.

"Pleasure? I lost three hundred effing dollars to the guy!" Axel said irately. "Hey, it's not his fault that you suck at the game, Axxy." Larxene mocked.

Marluxia grinned. "Nice to meet you." She said, shaking his hand.

The brunette good-humouredly joined in Larxene's Axel-bashing, unbeknownst to her that right on the other side of the mall, another problem was to arise.

* * *

"This would look so hot on you Yazz!" Yazoo sighed and opened her arms to another pile of clothes, a slight smile on her face, wondering when they'd realize that she didn't have the capacity to try on all the clothes they gave her in a year, let alone a day.

The silver-head mentally picked out some clothes that she might actually like and dropped the rest into Darienne's hands, not waiting for the irritating response she expected to come as she went to the changing rooms.

At this point the teen had to be careful; she'd gotten used to it, but changing in public was a constant strain on the silver-head. Okay, technically it wasn't public, although the changing rooms were her danger zone.

Yazoo looked through the clothes. Fortunately for her, the clothing size of a normal female matched hers, so it didn't bother her very much.

Soon enough, Yazoo found something she particularly liked in the pile: a dark Persian green sweater. What did it remind her of?

The material was soft and felt good against her skin. She snapped out of her reverie when calls from outside told her to show.

Making sure nothing looked out of the ordinary, she slipped out and presented herself. Kate and Darienne cooed, saying she looked fantastic and such, while Amanda looked smug.

"Perfect, Yazz. Maybe you should wear that to the party." She said. Yazoo smiled, and soon enough they purchased a number of items (the three commented on Yazoo's good taste yet limited purchases) and stepped out of the store laughing.

Yazoo felt excited to at least be able to wear the turtleneck sweater, although, lost in her thoughts, the silver-head accidentally ran into someone.

More aptly put, someone ran into her, but it was partially her fault for not looking. Upon seeing who it was, though, the tension immediately rose.

The messy-haired redhead was already hurriedly grabbing the stuff he'd knocked out of her arms and laid the bag in her hand, saying no more but a muttered apology as he went as quickly as he came.

"Oh, how rude! He totally did that on purpose. What a son-of-a-" "Can it, Dar." Yazoo said quickly, getting on her feet.

Darriene looked disgusted still at the redhead's 'hit and run', although Yazoo stared in the direction of where the redhead ran off to.

She wasn't even able to say **her **apology. "Sorry, Reno..." She murmured.

* * *

"Hey, Starbucks or Seattle's?" Larxene asked. "Who cares?" Axel responded. "Starbucks." Marluxia said shortly. "Yes, your highness." Axel drawled, the half-hour of Axel-teasing not forgotten easily by the redhead.

"On second thought, how about Seattle's?" Larxene said quickly, steering the two of them away. "What? Larx, what the-" Marluxia looked in the direction of the coffee shop and spotted who Larxene was attempting to elude.

Too late, someone called out Marluxia's name.

Amanda seemed to deem it okay to call Marluxia over. Yazoo groaned inwardly, hoping to high heavens that she hadn't heard. Unfortunately, not even Marluxia could pretend that she hadn't heard, when she already stopped and stared.

The brunette looked livid as she walked over, leaving behind her, Yazoo noticed, Larxene and Axel, who had identical disdainful looks as they watched Marluxia walk over.

"Hi." Marluxia said in a falsely cheerful voice.

"Hi, Marluxia! What a coincidence, seeing you here." Kate said, completely oblivious to Marluxia's obvious antipathy to the girls (well, you know, three girls and one 'girl') sitting at their table.

"Yeah... Well, if that's all..." Marluxia said quickly. "No, we just wanted to get your opinion. We bought some new clothes today, and I found out from a source that you've got a good eye for it." Amanda said sweetly.

Marluxia crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, show me what you've got." She said, in the very least humoring them. They presented the stuff to her, conversing in the traditional girl-talk that didn't require them to really be friends, only, to know what each of them was talking about.

When it was Yazoo's 'turn', the silver-head brought the sweater out carefully, watching Marluxia's reaction as the latter's eyes widened.

"That-" Marluxia stopped. "What?" Yazoo looked at Marluxia warilly.

Marluxia refused to speak up, but Yazoo insisted. "What is it?" "Yeah, girl, tell us what you think." Darienne said.

Marluxia bit her lip. "It looks like your mom's."

The color in Yazoo's pale face was drained. Before she could think, Marluxia added, "You seem to be taking after your mom a lot, Yazoo."

The tension just rose ten times, and Yazoo's expression was next to murderous. "At least I have a mother, huh?"

Marluxia looked just as livid then. "You just crossed the line." She snarled.

"Trying to make up for something, Marluxia? Maybe the fact that you're really just a nobody, right? You're a sore loser who pulls at people's strings for the kicks." Yazoo said, provoking the brunette even more.

Darienne and Kate looked shock; Amanda just watched with fascination.

"If I'm a nobody, Yazoo, you're a fake. How long can you pretend to be what you're not? I promised that I wouldn't let you have a miserable year, Yazoo, but I promised that to my friend. Whatever you are now, you're leading yourself to misery." Marluxia said, stalking away without waiting for a response.

* * *

"Doesn't look good." Larxene said gravely, watching the scene. When Marluxia stalked over, the blond and the redhead came to meet her up.

"Marx, hey..." Larxene reached to her, but Marluxia just batted the girl's hand out of the way and took off on her own.

Axel and Larxene looked at each other, concern etched on their faces.

* * *

"Hey!" Marluxia looked up from the water under the bridge and saw Axel leaning on the railing nearby.

"What do you want?" She said coldly. "Hey, hey, I'm just worried, you know. Is that like a crime or what? Or do you have a personal emo bubble you don't want me to pop?" The redhead quipped, raising his hands defensively.

"Go away, Axel. I'm not in the mood." Marluxia said irritably.

"Fine fine. I just thought you should know... You shouldn't let that get to you. I really don't think Yazoo meant what she said, just like you didn't mean what you said."

"Like you'd know. She certainly meant every venom-caked word she spat." Marluxia said distastefully.

"Okay, maybe this is just my twin ESP, or Reno's just getting to me, but I'm thinking that Yazoo isn't going as bad as you think." Axel said, settling beside her.

The sun was setting, and it reflected on the water nicely.

Obviously, Twilight Town wasn't named that way for nothing. The sunsets always looked amazing, especially when one found a good place to watch it.

Marluxia looked at the vanishing point of the horizon, and watching the sunset, she sobbed once, and the tears finally came.

Axel put a comforting arm around her, his hand gripping her shoulder.

"Axel... You- you're not busy tonight are you? I'm sorry... I just don't think I can handle-" Marluxia sobbed. "I'll stay, don't worry." Axel said soothingly.

"I can't handle being alone." Marluxia confided, her voice barely above a whisper.

* * *

_Marluxia watched the plane. He escaped from Aerith easily enough, right after __**he'd**__ boarded. Marluxia watched the aircraft finish its taxi and saw it take off, moving farther and farther till it disappeared in the clouds._

_He was alone. Marluxia, for the first time, realized his loss. He broke down. Aerith found the boy slumped in a corner by the time it was twilight. It seemed that Marluxia had cried himself to sleep._

* * *

"She's cried herself to sleep, the poor thing." Aerith said affectionately, gently brushing Marluxia's hair from her face. Axel watched the tender care Aerith and couldn't help but smile a bit.

"Thanks for staying around, Axel. You want to stay for the night? It's a bit late." Aerith said.

"Nah, I told Reno to relay the message. I told him I probably wouldn't be coming home tonight." Axel said.

Aerith gave that warm smile of hers as she gently shook Marluxia awake.

"Hm? What-" The younger said, sounding groggy. .

"Come on, dear, the couch isn't the best place to stay." Aerith said sternly, but retaining the same sweetness.

Marluxia got up, but stumbled, although Axel caught her quickly.

"You don't mind bringing her up, do you?" Aerith asked. Axel shook his head no and carefully led the half-asleep Marluxia up the stairs to her room.

Soon she was laid on the bed, and Axel carefully removed her shoes and jacket. Hoping that Marluxia wouldn't mind, the redhead took off the rest of the clothing save for pants and the shirt, although taking the painstaking task to remove her padding.

Throughout, Marluxia hardly stirred, except at one point when she turned over and muttered a name Axel didn't recognize.

As the redhead got up to leave, he was surprised when Marluxia's hand clutched his sleeve.

Axel sighed and sat by the brunette, who held a constant grip on him. Even asleep, Marluxia kept hoping not to be left alone again.

* * *

Okay, maybe not that long XP But it's getting somewhere, in the very least.

I should get shot for the 'nobody' and 'fake' comments. Yazoo being a clone and Marly being a, well, nobody, and all that.

Well anyway, I know it's been a while, but I hope comments will come!

wipes dust off comment box

Thanks for the wait guys 8D

* * *


	7. Epiphany?

* * *

Okay... Hi guys 8D

Another chapter...

This one's more centered on Yazoo

Yeah not much to say. Enjoy.

I own none of the characters that belong to Squeenix (duh)

* * *

"Total humiliation, Reno speaking." Reno quipped dully, answering his cell.

"Nice to hear from you too, Reno. Any problems you want to talk about?" Elena said on the other side of the line.

"No thank you, Doctor Elena, I'm just going to wallow in my own misery." Reno said. "That's nice. What is it this time? School? Your brother? Friends? Family? Which is it?" Elena questioned.

"Hey, hey, don't go CSI on my ass, Elena. I've got girl problems, is all." Reno said. "What!? I never thought I'd live to hear that Reno the playboy has girl problems." Elena said, sounding stunned at the idea.

Elena's outburst resulted to very painful eardrums on Reno's side. "Thanks for your input. Was there a reason you bothered to call in the first place anyway?"

"Well, now that I think about it, I forgot." Elena said after a moment. Reno shut his phone.

* * *

"Is there a reason I feel like crap today?" Yazoo asked sardonically.

"Uhh... Is there any reason you're asking me? Shouldn't you be talking to Kadaj?" Loz responded, throwing a number of things over his head and catching them, unable to find much else to humor him in his boredom.

"Thanks so much for caring, brother." The longer-haired silver-head muttered cynically.

There was an uncomfortable silence before Loz thought well enough to break it. "Uh... I haven't seen Marluxia around."

"No, you haven't." Yazoo said shortly, the venom dripping from her tone. "Did you guys argue?" Loz asked incredulously. He was no genius, but Loz was entirely certain that the day Marluxia and Yazoo would hate each other was the day trees would belly-dance.

"She was a bitch and that's it. Enough said." Yazoo rolled over and buried her head in a pillow. Loz looked thoughtful.

"You have to admit though, so have you." Loz said quietly, bracing himself for a storm.

"What?" The older brother nearly jumped at the outraged statement, but kept his cool. _How would Kadaj say it? 'Face it Yazoo you're a bitch besides a son of one and it's time for you to deal'? Maybe Kadaj's way of saying it won't work. _Loz thought.

"Listen Yazoo, at school... well, you acted really... mean." He said as honestly as he could, fearing his younger brother-er... sister's wrath.

Yazoo was about to respond, but bit back her reply. Thinking back, she realized the truth in her brother's words. She HAD been a jerk. Especially to a certain redhead...

"Right." Yazoo muttered, before doing a full roll and unknowingly sending herself reeling off the bed.

Loz got up from the couch with a hundred worried queries on Yazoo's welfare, while out in the hall, Kadaj smiled, relieved that the problem (namely Yazoo) had been resolved without his help, for the time being, in the very least.

* * *

"A party?"

"Uh, yeah. Just with some friends at school. Just the four of us, plus just a few close friends. They're a good crowd, dad. Top grades, social action, stuff like that. They wanted to welcome me properly." Yazoo twiddled with her shirt fabric and hoped to high heavens that her dad was in a good mood.

Sephiroth looked up from his work, eyeing Yazoo warily. So far the younger long-haired silver-head's explanation seemed bona fide, but when she learned from the master (Sephiroth) at the art of deception, (yes it's an art) he couldn't be certain.

If Yazoo was lying, she was good.

"I'll consider. I've been wondering though, Yazoo, why I haven't seen Marluxia very much lately." Sephiroth said.

_Since when has my family cared so much about Marluxia? _Yazoo thought irately.

"We haven't had much time to hang out." Yazoo said shortly, using the same 'no questions asked' tone her father always used on his spawn-er... kids.

"Alright then. If you don't get in trouble in the next few days you can go. Same rules apply, Yazoo. Also, be discreet." Sephiroth said, waving her off to continue his work.

"Right, dad, thanks." Yazoo said cheerfully, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before running off.

Unfortunately, Yazoo's ability to be cheerful seemed to be out of order as she practically dragged herself up to the room to sleep.

* * *

Waking up the next morning, Axel did **not **expect to see a miffed Marluxia sitting on the bed, arms crossed and looking piqued.

"Explanations?" She questioned shortly.

"Uh... Hey, I didn't do anything, okay? I guess I just sorta fell asleep. Can't blame a guy for that, right?" Axel said hesitantly, holding his hands up defensively.

"Right. In my bed?" The atmosphere was getting dangerous.

"Hey, you were dreaming... I dunno, I thought I should stay around, maybe. I seriously didn't mean to fall asleep, I mean..." Axel stuttered, although Marluxia uncrossed her arms and sighed.

"Right, well, get up, lazy-ass, so we can get some breakfast." Marluxia said, pulling the sheets so quickly that Axel pretty much introduced his head to the bedpost.

"Ow! Damn it, not a morning person, huh?"

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

* * *

Yazoo walked by the bridge, secretly hoping to see her friend there as was Marluxia's habit, but it was a no-go.

Yazoo really had no idea what she was to do, and didn't bother calling her new 'friends', knowing that Kate had a dentist's appointment, Darienne was in some class and Amanda... Well, who cares...

Yazoo sighed, letting her feet take her to wherever they would take her (consciously avoiding Aerith's shop) until she ended up in a place called the sandlot.

There really wasn't much to do besides watching some younger teens (inclusive of Roxas, she noticed, hanging out with some other friends of his) bash each other with foam bats. _Well, this is fun. _She thought sardonically.

No one really noticed her standing there. It didn't matter to Yazoo really.

The next second told her otherwise.

A calloused hand grabbed her wrist before she could even react, and she soon felt cold metal at her throat.

"Money, lady. Jewelry, valuables." The man said in a gruff voice, face hidden by a thick, ratty old scarf and over-large sunglasses.

Yazoo tensed and threw a kick, but the man was quick enough to dodge, but kept a firm grip and punched Yazoo in the stomach.

The silver-head heaved, kneeling on the cobblestones as the man poured out the contents of her bag and made off with her wallet and cellphone.

The mugger was barely around the corner when he was met with a painful greeting from a well-aimed kick, and the man was beat down until he lost consciousness.

Yazoo tried to look through the curtain of silver hair that fell over her eyes, but tears of pain prevented that, until the silver-head returned to breathing normally.

She found it almost painful to breathe; the man had hit her hard, although a hand reached out to her helped a number.

Looking up, she nearly gasped (if it didn't put so much strain on her gut) at the sight of Reno's concerned face.

"Yo, you okay, Yazz? Didn't hit you too hard, did he?" He said gently, unusual for the normally sarcastic tough-guy.

"Nah, I'm good." Yazoo said reassuringly, breathing shallower breaths to lessen the pain in her abdomen. "Hey, don't kid around. We've got to get you some medical attention and stuff. No need to get all heroic on me, yo." Reno said incredulously.

"I'm not, Reno. You should stop acting heroic yourself; doesn't suit you." The silver-head said irately.

She stopped.

"Thanks for helping me out." She said, her tone becoming more or less affable.

"Hey, no prob. You sure you don't need help?" Reno said askance. "No. Thanks. Sorry..." Yazoo walked off, clutching her bag, trying not to look back at the redhead.

"I'm really sorry!" She said, louder this time as she turned back to him.

Reno had his back to her as he waved his hand in a way that said 'sure, whatever' as he left the scene with Yazoo standing there, forgetting that she was supposed to go.

* * *

"Hey. So, what's all this for?" Axel looked confused at the number of people on the flower shop porch.

It seemed that practically everyone had gathered for some sort of 'meeting' on Marluxia's front porch, and of course, it was Larxene who was the cause of this.

Marluxia came out soon after, looking at the posse questioningly.

"Okay, Zexion, Demyx, Yuffie, Roxas, Sora, Kairi, Nami, and Larxy..." She began. "What the hell are you all doing here?"

"Important meeting, apparently." Zexion said, sounding less that pleased at having been awaken at such an ungodly hour in the morning. (The sun just rose and emo boy's not a morning person. Go figure)

"Important meeting?"

"Yes, Marxy, we've got a very important topic to talk about today." Larxene said, sounding eerily like a school teacher.

There was a pause. "Well?"

"Revenge plans. I think it's just about time, don't you?" The blond said, her eye shining with a glint that always meant a storm was brewing.

Marluxia considered Larxene with one eyebrow raised and another long silence followed. "I'm listening." The brunette said finally.

* * *

Yeah, short I know XP

It'll get better. At least now it's getting interesting XD


End file.
